Tie holder



y 1938. J. MQCRACKEN 2,117,969

TIE HOLDER Filed Aug. 51, 1956 Patented May 17, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to tie holders, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and efficient means for holding the depending end of a four-in-hand necktie flat against the center of the shirt and the narrow end of the tie directly behind the wide end thereof.

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and efficient means for holding the ends of a four-in-hand tie in a relatively inconspicuous manner, and allowing the tie a free up and down movement While at the same timepreventing the tie from being blown away from the front of the shirt.

Another object of this invention is the production of a tie holder having a shirt-clamping portion having a plurality of jaws wherein a gripping tension is provided through the length of the jaws, that is to say from end-to-end.

A still further object of this invention is the production of an efilcient tie holder having a shirt-clamping means, the jaws of which may be opened to provide a wide mouth to facilitate the engagement of the clamping means with a shirt and automatically grip the shirt throughout the length of the jaws as the clamping means is moved to a clampingposition.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims. 7

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a shirt and collar showing the manner of holding the depending ends of a four-in-hand tie in the center of the shirt front through the medium of .35 my improved tie holder;

of Figure 2; .40 Figure 4 is an end elevational View of the; tie

holder;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the tie holder with the clamping jaws in an open position, a portion of the tie-engaging loop being broken away;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the tie holder;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the inner face of the holder;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a modified 50 form of the tie holder.

By referring to the drawing, it will be seen that A designates the shirt of the conventional type and B designates a tie of the four-in-hand type. The tie holder comprises a clamping mem- 5 her It] having a primary jaw H, and a secondary jaw l2, the primary jaw ll being preferably 7 stamped from a blank sheet of material and comprising a pair of parallel spaced flanges l3 which are connectedby' a bridgeportion M. A perforated ear I5 is struck from each end of the bridge portion l4 and each ear is bent at right angles thereto projecting in an opposite direction to the parallel flanges l3. These perforated ears I5 constitute spaced hinge portions and provide a pocket in which the narrow end of a four-inhand tie may fit, .as indicated by the numeral C in Figure 2, the edges of the tie being held against material lateral shifting by these cars l5.

The secondary jaw 12 is preferably formed from spring wire and comprises a loop portion I6 which extends in substantially parallel relation to the primary jaw II, the end projectingslightly beyond the end of the primary jaw, as shown in the drawing, the loop also being slightly wider than the primary jaw, the parallel sides of the loop projecting beyond the parallel sides of the jaw I l in the manner shown in Figure 3, whereby the edges of the flanges l3 may provide an eilicient grip upon the front plait of the shirt. This action is clearly shown in Figure 3. One end of the loop I6 is overlapped in crossed relation and the terminals of the wire constituting the loop 18 are bent backwardly to extend in substantially parallel relation to the sides of the loop 16 providing parallel arms I! the terminals of which are inturned to provide journal portions l8 fitting in apertures l9 formed in the flanges l3. Because of this construction, the secondary jaw 12 may be swung upon the journals 18 with respect to the primary jaw l l to provide an open mouth, as shown in Figure 5, when inserting the clamp I 0 into clamping engagement with the front plait of the shirt.

A tie-encircling loop 19 is provided having its ends 2!! projecting beyond the ears l5, one terminal of the loop l9 being provided with an eye 2! for engaging one ear l5. The loop [9 is provided with a spaced substantially parallel arm 22 which is. bent to provide an eye 23 intermediate its end for engaging the opposite ear l5 and terminates in an inwardly projecting finger 24 arranged in spaced relation to the outside of the loop iii, the end terminating short of the eye 2|, as shown in Figure 6. This will permit the easy insertion of the narrow end C of the tie behind the finger 24 and between the ears I5, as shown in Figure 2, the wide end D of the tie B being held within the loop l9 as shown in Figure 2.

As shown in Figure 5, the corners of the flanges II are preferably rounded, as indicated at 25, to

facilitate the sliding of the flanges over the front plait of the shirt without fear of injuring or tear ing the shirt.

In Figure 8 there is shown a modified form of the invention completely formed of strands of wire, wherein the device comprises a primary jaw 25 and an auxiliary jaw 21. The primary jaw 26 consists of a pair of spaced parallel wires and one end of the jaw 26 is bent to provide a rightangularly extending eye or loop 28 the opposite terminals of the wires from the primary jaw 26 being hooked together, as at 29, one terminal being bent to provide an eye 30 extending at right angles in substantial alignment with the eye 28, in this way providing a pocket in which the narrow end of the tie is adapted to rest.

The secondary jaw 21 is also formed from a second piece of bent wire consisting of a loop 31 which is adapted to extend substantially parallel to the jaw 26, the terminals of the wire being overlapped and bent backwardly in substantial parallel relation to the loop 23 for a portion of its length to provide substantially parallel arms. 32, the terminals of which are bent laterally in opposite directions to provide journals 23 fitting in eyes 34 formed intermediate the ends of the pri' mary loop 28. A tie-encircling loop !9a is hingedly connected to the eyes 28 and 30. The structure operates substantially the same as that described with respect to the previously described form.

The operation of the devices is as follows:-By referring to Figures 1 to 7, inclusive, it should be noted that the secondary jaw i2 is initially swung to the position shown in Figure 5, and the jaw I2 is inserted under the front plait of the shirt causing the edges of the flanges 13 of the primary jaw H to ride over the front face of the front plait of the shirt. As the clamp H is moved transversely across the front plait of the shirt, the secondary jaw 12 will be swung to a position substantially parallel to the primary jaw H, the edges of the flanges i3 firmly gripping or biting against the fabric of the front plait of the shirt and wedging the same against the spaced parallel side wires of the loop E5 of the secondary jaw l2 providing an eflicient clamp for holding the device against accidental displacement or engagement with the shirt. The spring action of the loop l6 due to the fact that the same is formed of spring wire, the ends of which are overlapped and crossed, as illustrated, and at the same time are pivoted to'the primary jaw, will provide this efficient clamping action. The narrow end C of the tie will fit between the ears l5 and be held against lateral displacement and prevent the narrow end of the tie to move from a position which would not underlie the wide end of the tie. The wide end of the tie will be retained within the pivoted loop l9, which loop because of its being hinged in a horizontal position, will through gravity hang the device against the front of the tie tending to retain the tie in a flat position, at the same time permitting the loop to freely swing upwardly or downwardly as action may require.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that a very simple and efiicient means has been provided to hold the necktie flat against the center of the shirt, as well as to hold the narrow end of the tie directly behind the wide end. The tie holder, while being relatively inconspicuous, allows the tie to have a free up and down movement due particularly to the hinge action of the loop l9, the weight of the loop holding the tie normally flat against the front of the shirt, and

at the same time withstanding outward pull of the tie should the same be caught by the wind. The device will give equal tension on each end of the tie and is free to follow the outward and backward movement of the tie as well as the upward and downward movement without permitting the tie to become laterally displaced. Furthermore, the clamp construction permits the clamp to be opened wide at its mouth to facilitate the engagement with the shirt and while the clamp is being moved across the front plait of the shirt the two jaws will automatically realign themselves for clamping action. Furthermore, the parallel strands of the spring jaw [6 will pass close to the side edges of the flanges 13 adjacent the corners thereof to provide an efficient clamping or gripping action, causing the shirt to be bent abruptly in the manner as shownin Figure 3 to provide this efiicient biting and gripping action.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the mechanical construction may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:--

1. A tie holder of the class describe-d comprising a shirt-clamping means having spaced apertured ears, a tie-encircling loop having eye portions pivotally engaging said ears whereby said loop may have up and down swinging movement, the weight of the loop causing the loop to hang flat against the tie and hold the tie flat against the shirt, the loop also constituting means for retaining the free ends of a tie against lateral displacement, and said loop having a spaced parallel finger spanning the distance between said ears and adapted to retain the narrow end of a tie between the ears.

2. A tie holder of the class described comprising a shirt-clamping means having spaced apertured ears, a tie-encircling loop having eye portions pivotally engaging said ears whereby said loop may have up and down swinging movement, the weight of the loop causing the loop to hang flat against the tie and hold the tie flat against the shirt, the loop also constituting means for retaining the free'ends of a tie against lateral displacement, said loop having a spaced parallel finger spanning the distance between said ears and adapted to retain the narrow end of a tie between the ears, and said finger terminating short of one of said ears to facilitate the placing of the narrow end of a tie behind the finger and between the ears.

3. A tie holder of the'class described comprising a tie-retaining means, a shirt-engaging clamp supporting said tie-retaining means, said clamp comprising a primary jaw and a secondary jaw, the secondary jaw being of greater length than the primary jaw and being hingedly connected to the primary jaw intermediate the length of the primary jaw, the secondary jaw being yieldable with respect to the primary jaw and of greater width than the primary jaw for causing said jaws to frictionally bite into the front plait of a shirt and provide biting clamping engagement therewith to firmly hold the clamp in fixed relation upon the'plait of a shirt.

l. A tie holder of the class described comprising a tie-retaining means, a shirt-engaging clamp supporting said tie-retaining means, said clamp comprising a primary jaw and a secondary jaw, the secondary jaw being of greater length than the primary jaw and being hingedly connected to the primary jaw intermediate the length of the primary jaw, the secondary jaw being yieldable with respect to the primary jaw and of greater width than the primary jaw for causing said jaws to frictionally bite into the front plait of a shirt and provide biting clamping engagement therewith to firmly hold the clamp' in fixed relation upon the plait of a shirt, said secondary jaw being formed of a wire strand and comprising a spring loop, the strands at one end of the loop being crossed and bent backwardly to provide substantially parallel fingers, the terminals of which are inturned and provide journals for engaging the primary jaw.

5. A tie holder of the class described comprising a tie-retaining means, a shirt-engaging clamp comprising a primary jaw and a secondary jaw, the tie-retaining means being hinged to one of said jaws for upward and downward swinging movement on a horizontal pivot, the secondary jaw being of greater length and greater width than the primary jaw and pivotally connected to the primary jaw whereby the primary jaw may swing within the secondary jaw to permit the jaws to be moved to provide an open mouth for the clamp when inserting the clamp in engagement with a support.

6. A tie holder of the class described comprising a tie retaining means, a shirt-engaging clamp hingedly supporting said tie-engaging means, said clamp comprising a pair of jaw sections formed from spring wire strands, one section being of greater size than the other section to permit the swinging of one section within the other section, one section having a pair of intermediate transversely aligned eyes and the other section having backwardly bent fingers arranged in cross relation at one end and the terminals bent laterally away from each other fitting in the eyes of the adjoining section to provide journals whereby one section may be swung with respect to the other section to provide an open mouth for the clamp when inserting the clamp in engagement with a front plait of a shirt, the jaws being adapted to automatically align themselves and provide spring gripping action between the jaws as the clamp is moved transversely across the front plait of a shirt to frictionally and firmly hold the clamp in position.

'7. A tie holder of the class described comprising a shirt-clamping means, means formed upon one face thereof defining a pocket to receive the narrow end of a necktie for holding the same against lateral movement, and an enlarged tieencircling means extending laterally of the sides of said pocket for receiving the wide end of a necktie, the pocket being located behind the enlarged tie-encircling means and communicating therewith, whereby separate compartments are provided one for the narrow end of a necktie and one for the wide end of a necktie.

8. A tie holder of the class described comprising a shirt-clamping means, means formed upon one face thereof defining a pocket to receive the narrow end of a necktie for holding the same against lateral movement, an enlarged tie-encircling means extending laterally of the sides of said pocket for receiving the wide end of a necktie, the pocket being located behind the enlarged tie-encircling means and communicating therewith, and a guard overlying the front of said pocket for retaining the narrow end of a necktie against displacement from the front of said pocket, whereby separate compartments are provided one for the narrow end of a necktie and one for the wide end of a necktie.

9. A tie holder of the class described comprising a shirt-clamping means, means formed upon one face thereof defining a pocket to receive the narrow end of a necktie for holding the same against lateral movement, an enlarged tie-encircling loop extending laterally of the sides of said pocket for receiving the wide end of a necktie, the pocket being located behind the enlarged tieencircling loop and communicating therewith, whereby separate compartments are provided one for the narrow end of a necktie and one for the Wide end of a necktie, and a guard finger overlying the front of said pocket for retaining the narrow end of a necktie against displacement from the front of said pocket, the finger terminating short of one end of the pocket to facilitate the placing of the narrow end of a necktie behind the finger.

JOHN MCCRACIQEN. 

